Probing the photonic local density of states with electron energy loss spectroscopy

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) performed in transmission electron microscopes is shown to directly render the photonic local density of states (LDOS) with unprecedented spatial resolution, currently below the nanometer. Two special cases are discussed in detail: (i) 2D photonic structures with the electrons moving along the translational axis of symmetry and (ii) quasi-planar plasmonic structures under normal incidence. Nanophotonics in general and plasmonics in particular should benefit from these results connecting the unmatched spatial resolution of EELS with its ability to probe basic optical properties like the photonic LDOS.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Development of a high brightness ultrafast Transmission Electron Microscope based on a laser-driven cold field emission source

We report on the development of an ultrafast Transmission Electron Microscope based on a cold field emission source which can operate in either DC or ultrafast mode. Electron emission from a tungsten nanotip is triggered by femtosecond laser pulses which are tightly focused by optical components integrated inside a cold field emission source close to the cathode. The properties of the electron probe (brightness, angular current density, stability) are quantitatively determined. The measured brightness is the largest reported so far for UTEMs. Examples of imaging, diffraction and spectroscopy using ultrashort electron pulses are given. Finally, the potential of this instrument is illustrated by performing electron holography in the off-axis configuration using ultrashort electron pulses.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figure

Very low shot noise in carbon nanotubes

We have performed noise measurements on suspended ropes of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) between 1 and 300 K for different values of dc current through the ropes. We find that the shot noise is suppressed by more than a factor 100 compared to the full shot noise 2eI. We have also measured an individual SWNT and found a level of noise which is smaller than the minimum expected. Another finding is the very low level of 1/f noise, which is significantly lower than previous observations. We propose two possible interpretations for this strong shot noise reduction: i) Transport within a rope takes place through a few nearly ballistic tubes within a rope and possibly involves non integer effective charges. ii) A substantial fraction of the tubes conduct with a strong reduction of effective charge (by more than a factor 50).Comment: Submitted to Eur. Phys. J. B (Jan. 2002) Higher resolution pictures are posted on http://www.lps.u-psud.fr/Collectif/gr_07/publications.htm

Superconductivity in ropes of carbon nanotubes

Recent experimental and theoretical results on intrinsic superconductivity in ropes of single-wall carbon nanotubes are reviewed and compared. We find strong experimental evidence for superconductivity when the distance between the normal electrodes is large enough. This indicates the presence of attractive phonon-mediated interactions in carbon nanotubes, which can even overcome the repulsive Coulomb interactions. The effective low-energy theory of rope superconductivity explains the experimental results on the temperature-dependent resistance below the transition temperature in terms of quantum phase slips. Quantitative agreement with only one fit parameter can be obtained. Nanotube ropes thus represent superconductors in an extreme 1D limit never explored before.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, to appear in special issue of Sol. State Com

High-angular-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy of hexagonal boron nitride

High-angular-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) is used to study the anisotropic behavior of the boron and nitrogen K ionization edges in h-BN. This work makes significant progress toward improving the anisotropy measurements. The authors show experimentally by EELS the vanishment of the p* peak existing in these K edges in agreement with electronic structure calculations and previous soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements

Alteration of superconductivity of suspended carbon nanotubes by deposition of organic molecules

We have altered the superconductivity of a suspended rope of single walled carbon nanotubes, by coating it with organic polymers. Upon coating, the normal state resistance of the rope changes by less than 20 percent. But superconductivity, which on the bare rope shows up as a substantial resistance decrease below 300 mK, is gradualy suppressed. We correlate this to the suppression of radial breathing modes, measured with Raman Spectroscopy on suspended Single and Double-walled carbon nanotubes. This points to the breathing phonon modes as being responsible for superconductivity in carbon nanotubes

Superconductivity in Ropes of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We report measurements on ropes of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) in low-resistance contact to non-superconducting (normal) metallic pads, at low voltage and at temperatures down to 70 mK. In one sample, we find a two order of magnitude resistance drop below 0.55 K, which is destroyed by a magnetic field of the order of 1T, or by a d.c. current greater than 2.5 microA. These features strongly suggest the existence of superconductivity in ropes of SWNT.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy Measurement of the Optical Gaps on Individual Boron Nitride Single-Walled and Multiwalled Nanotubes

Spatially resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy experiments have been performed in an electron microscope on several individual boron nitride (BN) single-, double-, and triple-walled nanotubes, whose diameters and number of shells have been carefully measured. In the low-loss region (from 2 to 50 eV) the spectra have been analyzed within the framework of the continuum dielectric theory, leading to the conclusion of a weak influence of out-of-plane contribution to the dielectric response of the tubes. The gap has been measured to be independent of the nanotubes geometry, and close to the in-plane gap value of hexagonal BN (5.8±0.2¿¿eV)